Rechargeable lithium batteries, recently under extensive development and research, exhibit battery characteristics, such as charge-discharge voltage, charge-discharge cycle life characteristics and storage characteristics, which depend largely upon the types of the electrodes used. This has led to the various attempts to better battery characteristics by improving active electrode materials.
The use of metallic lithium as the negative active material enables construction of batteries which exhibit high energy densities, both gravimetric and volumetric. However, the lithium deposited on charge grows into dendrites, which could cause problematic internal short-circuiting.
On the other hand, rechargeable lithium batteries are reported using an electrode composed of aluminum, silicon, tin or the like which alloys electrochemically with lithium during charge (Solid State Ionics, 113–115, p57(1998)).
However, the use of these metals that alloy with lithium (Li) for the negative electrode material has problematically resulted in the failure to obtain sufficient cycle characteristics because such active electrode materials undergo large expansion and shrinkage in volume as they store and release lithium and are pulverized and separated from the current collector.